Writing blues...

Many children and adults as well cringe when it comes to the task of writing. An essential facet of writing is CREATIVITY. In order to channel your creativity, it takes some practice. Here's an idea that I found works really well (especially with elementary school children) with regard to this subject matter.

With children:

Start off with a variety of color swatches (usually carried by your local hardware or paint store). These swatches usually have funny names such as "Baby Seal" or "Pumpkin Pie." Keep a stash of these on hand and have your student, child, or even yourself pick a few out...no more than five at a time. Have your student develop a funny story connecting these color names by adapting them into their very own story lines. Allow them to make up whatever they like. It's all fair game. I've seen some fantastic stories!

With adults:

We, as adults, often lose that carefree liberation to be creative. When you are writing and you think "No, that sounds dumb," STOP yourself. Write it down anyway. In fact before you do any writing whatsoever, I suggest a quick write of ANYTHING that comes to mind. Things do not have to make sense in your quick write...it is your world. You can jot ideas that pertain to your topic, or you can write things you do not like about your topic. It's all relative. You can also journal to write whatever your heart desires. This can be considered a writing warm up if you will. You never know, those ideas floating around in your head can be so very valuable later in your outlines and drafts.